Fortnightly bin collections to be considered

SLOUGH: A switch to fortnightly bin collections in Slough will be discussed next week as the council looks to slash £705,000 from its annual budget, writes David Lee.

The new measures could see general waste and recycling collected on alternate weeks from June 2023.

Slough Borough Council said it is one of few councils that still pick up rubbish and recycling from residents on a weekly basis.

It is hoping the move will help improve the borough’s poor recycling rates which sees just 28 per cent of rubbish recycled.

But opposition councillor Madhuri Bedi (Independent, Foxborough) told the Express she fears the switch to fortnightly collections could cause chaos, particularly with increasing temperatures in the summer months.

She said: “This year so many people had maggots flying out of their bins because of the temperatures. That’s with a one-week collection, what is going to happen when it’s two weeks?

“The fact is, this is because of the council’s own issues they have caused. If you didn’t spend so much on plants and wasted buildings we didn’t need, would we be in this issue?”

If approved, the move is expected to save the council around £423,000 in 2023/24 and £705,000 per year thereafter.

Blocks of flats which have communal bins will continue to have weekly collections, the council said.

Councillor Mohammed Nazir (Lab, Baylis and Stoke) said the council has been considering a switch to fortnightly collections since 2019.

He added: “During the pandemic with everyone at home we did not believe it was an appropriate time, but now we are bringing forward a proposal which we believe will not only save money but also encourage people to do more to reduce their waste and up their recycling which has wide-ranging benefits for the local and worldwide environment.”

Councillors will discuss the potential bin collection change during a meeting at its headquarters in Windsor Road on Thursday.